Transferrin saturation and hospital length of stay and mortality in Medicare beneficiaries.

Objectives: To evaluate in a large, nationally representative cohort the association between high serum transferrin saturation (TS) and hospital length of stay and mortality in older adults.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Setting: Longitudinal analyses of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey linked to Medicare claims from 1991 through 2006.

Graduate medical education and primary care workforce: a CERA study.

Background: In the next 10 to 15 years, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) estimates a shortage of physicians. In conjunction, the demand for primary care physicians will increase, the type of physician associated with better population health at lower health care costs. The objective of this study is to examine the opinions of family medicine residency directors (FMRD) regarding the potential impact of recent publicized recommendations on the primary care physician workforce in the United States.

The use of incentives in vulnerable populations for a telephone survey: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Poor response rates in prevalence surveys can lead to nonresponse bias thereby compromising the validity of prevalence estimates. We conducted a telephone survey of randomly selected households to estimate the prevalence of food allergy in the 10 Canadian provinces between May 2008 and March 2009 (the SCAAALAR study: Surveying Canadians to Assess the Prevalence of Common Food Allergies and Attitudes towards Food LAbeling and Risk). A household response rate of only 34.

Cardiovascular and diabetes risk perception in a Hispanic community sample.

Purpose: We examined perceptions of 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk or likelihood of having undiagnosed diabetes or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) with actual risk in a community sample of Hispanic adults.

Methods: We conducted a survey of 183 Hispanic adults (> or =18 years) recruited at community events around Charleston, SC. Likelihood of having undiagnosed diabetes/IFG as well as 10-year CHD risk were calculated.

A national survey of hemochromatosis patients.

Background: Hereditary hemochromatosis (HH) is a common genetic disease in the United States, but little is known about the diagnosis from the patient's perspective. The purpose of this study was to characterize the circumstances surrounding the diagnosis of HH and assess treatments and health information needs.

Methods: We surveyed US adults aged 18 years and older who were diagnosed with HH after 1996.

The non-Ig parts of the VpreB and λ5 proteins of the surrogate light chain play opposite roles in the surface representation of the precursor B cell receptor.

The VpreB and λ5 proteins, together with Igμ-H chains, form precursor BCRs (preBCRs). We established λ5(-/-)/VpreB1(-/-)/VpreB2(-/-) Abelson virus-transformed cell lines and reconstituted these cells with λ5 and VpreB in wild-type form or with a deleted non-Ig part. Whenever preBCRs had the non-Ig part of λ5 deleted, surface deposition was increased, whereas deletion of VpreB non-Ig part decreased it.

Voice modulations in German ironic speech.

Previous research has shown that in different languages ironic speech is acoustically modulated compared to literal speech,and these modulations are assumed to aid the listener in the comprehension process by acting as cues that mark utterances as ironic. The present study was conducted to identify paraverbal features of German 'ironic criticism' that may possibly act as irony cues by comparing acoustic measures of ironic and literal speech. For this purpose, samples of scripted ironic and literal target utterances produced by 14 female speakers were recorded and acoustically analyzed.

Monitoring the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines into West Africa: design and implementation of a population-based surveillance system.

Routine use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) in developing countries is expected to lead to a significant reduction in childhood deaths. However, PCVs have been associated with replacement disease with non-vaccine serotypes. We established a population-based surveillance system to document the direct and indirect impact of PCVs on the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and radiological pneumonia in those aged 2 months and older in The Gambia, and to monitor changes in serotype-specific IPD.

[Global ablation of endometrium as a new uterus sparing operative method in uterine dysfunctional bleeding].

A new method of endometrial ablation has been presented. This is the method of bipolar tridimensional device "NOVA SURE". This innovative method enables to destruct the basal and functional layer of the uterus and thus leads to amenorrhea and hypomenorrhea.

Behavioral and psychological aspects of the retirement decision.

The majority of research on the retirement decision has focused on the health and wealth aspects of retirement. Such research concludes that people in better health and those enjoying a higher socioeconomic status tend to work longer than their less healthy and less wealthy counterparts. While financial and health concerns are a major part of the retirement decision, there are other issues that may affect the decision to retire that are unrelated to an individual's financial and health status.

Cost effectiveness of child pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in middle-income countries.

Policy-makers require information on the potential benefits of and economic case for pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in middle-income countries. We built decision analysis models to evaluate a three-dose infant series of the 7-, 10- or 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in 77 middle-income countries compared with no vaccination, accounting for direct protection of vaccinated children as well as herd protection and serotype replacement in unvaccinated children and adults. Over 10 years, pneumococcal vaccination would prevent at least 11.

Cost effectiveness of child pneumococcal conjugate vaccination in GAVI-eligible countries.

Policy-makers increasingly rely on cost-effectiveness analysis, in addition to clinical effectiveness, when considering the introduction of new childhood vaccines. A previous analysis determined vaccination of infants with 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) to be highly cost effective in preventing child mortality in countries eligible for financial support from the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). We aimed to update this analysis by incorporating recent data on global disease burden, indirect effects and higher valency vaccines.

Impact of insurance and hospital ownership on hospital length of stay among patients with ambulatory care-sensitive conditions.

PURPOSE Some studies suggest proprietary (for-profit) hospitals are maximizing financial margins from patient care by limiting therapies or decreasing length of stay for uninsured patients. This study examines the role of insurance related to length of stay once the patient is in the hospital and risk for mortality, particularly in a for-profit environment. METHODS We undertook an analysis of hospitalizations in the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) of the 5-year period of 2003 to 2007 for patients aged 18 to 64 years (unweighted n = 849,866; weighted n = 90 million).

IRon Overload screeNing tool (IRON): development of a tool to guide screening in primary care.

Iron overload is associated with significant morbidity and mortality yet is easily treated. The objective of this study was to create a tool that could be easily adapted to clinical practice that indicates the likelihood of a patient having undetected iron overload. We used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002 for US adults aged 20 years and older to build a model (unweighted n=8,779).

[School meals at secondary schools: an analysis in the district of St. Wendel in the Province Saarland, Germany].

Introduction: This study focuses on the nutrition of young people in schools. The Saarland state government mandates the implementation of the "quality standards for school meals", developed by the Germany Society of Nutrition (Deutschen Gesellschaft für Ernährung, DGE) in schools offering school meals. This research evaluates the state of implementation.

Fixation of Le Fort I osteotomies with poly-DL-lactic acid mesh and ultrasonic welding--a new technique.

Purpose: This report describes a technique for use of resorbable mesh (Resorb-X) and an ultrasonic sonotrode unit (SonicWeld Rx) to bond a pin (SonicPin Rx) to the mesh and underlying bone for Le Fort I osteotomy fixation, precluding the need to tap, shortening the time needed for fixation, and eliminating many disadvantages of titanium. In total, 659 cases have been performed from October 2005 through December 2010. This study examined the first 103 consecutive Le Fort osteotomies performed with this resorbable system and thus those with the longest follow-up.

Uric acid as a potential cue to screen for iron overload.

Background: It is suggested that targeted screening for hemochromatosis and iron overload may be worthwhile. The aim of this study was to examine uric acid as a potential indicator of the presence of iron overload.

Methods: We analyzed adults aged 20 and older in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2002.

Ethnic differences in the relationship of prediabetes with the presence of target-organ disease.

Background: Cardiovascular risk is associated with prediabetes states. Ethnic differences in risks related to prediabetes have not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between prediabetes and the presence of target-organ disease in terms of ethnic differences.

The influence of physician acknowledgment of patients' weight status on patient perceptions of overweight and obesity in the United States.

Background: Physician counseling is effective in promoting healthy behavior. We evaluated whether patient reports of physician acknowledgment of overweight patients' weight status are associated with the patients' perceptions of their own weight and desire to lose weight.

Methods: We analyzed the 2005-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data on adults aged 20 to 64 years with a body mass index (BMI) of at least 25.

The role of behavioral economics and behavioral decision making in Americans' retirement savings decisions.

Traditional economic theory posits that people make decisions by maximizing a utility function in which all of the relevant constraints and preferences are included and weighed appropriately. Behavioral economists and decision-making researchers, however, are interested in how people make decisions in the face of incomplete information, limited cognitive resources, and decision biases. Empirical findings in the areas of behavioral economics and judgment and decision making (JDM) demonstrate departures from the notion that man is economically rational, illustrating instead that people often act in ways that are economically suboptimal.

The blind nasotracheal aspiration method is not a useful tool for pathogen detection of pneumonia in children.

Background: Acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) is a major cause of hospitalization for children in China, while the etiological diagnosis of ALRI remains a challenge. This study was performed to evaluate the utility of the blind Nasotracheal aspiration (NTA) in the pathogen detection in ALRI through an evaluation of the test's specificity.

Methodology/principal Findings: A hospital-based study of children ≤3 years was carried out from March 2006 through March 2007 in Suzhou University Affiliated Children's Hospital, including 379 cases with ALRI from the respiratory wards, and 394 controls receiving elective surgery.

A policy framework for accelerating adoption of new vaccines.

Rapid uptake of new vaccines can improve health and wealth and contribute to meeting Millennium Development Goals. In the past, however, the introduction and use of new vaccines has been characterized by delayed uptake in the countries where the need is greatest. Based on experience with accelerating the adoption of Hib, pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines, we propose here a framework for new vaccine adoption that may be useful for future efforts.

The impact of workload on hygiene compliance in nursing.

The objective of this research was to clarify whether external factors (e.g. ward capacity, level of nursing intensity) had an influence on nursing staff compliance with hand hygiene guidelines.

Role of the mTOR pathway in LPS-activated monocytes: influence of hypertonic saline.

Background: As heightened protein synthesis is the hallmark of many inflammatory syndromes, we hypothesize that the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, which control the cap-dependent translation initiation phase, was activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In addition, we studied the effect of hypertonic saline solution (HTS) on the mTOR cascade in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

Materials And Methods: PBMCs were isolated from healthy volunteers and treated with LPS.